|
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE
|
FY 2001 |
FY 2002 |
FY 2003 |
Change |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amount |
Percent |
||||
International Science and Engineering1 |
38.19 |
25.99 |
27.00 |
1.01 |
3.9% |
Total, INT |
$38.19 |
$25.99 |
$27.00 |
$1.01 |
3.9% |
1FY 2001 includes a transfer of $13.75 million from the U.S. Department of State for an award to the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation.
The INT Subactivity provides the expertise and networks to stimulate research cooperation with scientists and engineers in most of the developed and developing countries of the world and in all fields of science and engineering supported by the Foundation.
INT facilitates the advancement of NSF's strategic outcome goal of People - to develop and maintain a diverse, internationally competitive and globally engaged workforce of scientists and engineers. INT supports research and related activities that promote partnerships between U.S. and foreign researchers, enhance access to critical research conducted outside the U.S., and broaden the base of knowledge about mutually beneficial science and technology opportunities abroad. INT supports U.S. participation in both bilateral and multilateral workshops and symposia, the initial phases of collaborative research, key selected multinational scientific bodies, and individual and small group research training.
INT provides valuable international experiences to U.S. researchers particularly those in the early stages of their careers. Specific INT-supported activities include:
Together, these activities will enable the next generation of U.S. researchers to maintain leadership in an increasingly global research environment.
With the continuing growth of scientific resources worldwide, there are increasing opportunities for international cooperation in areas of mutual interest or concern. The development of International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) sites in Southern Africa enables U.S. and foreign researchers to conduct cross-site studies to compare and synthesize data on long-term ecological processes. Many of the sites will also afford researchers the opportunity to study the impact of transboundary issues (such as shared water resources or the development of transnational parks), and the results can be a valuable benefit in the development of scientifically-based ecosystem management plans. To promote the establishment of ILTER sites in the southern Africa region, INT in conjunction with the Environmental Biology Subactivity fostered interaction between researchers from Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe and those at various U.S. sites. Currently one ILTER site exists in Namibia. Other proposed sites include the Okavango Delta in Botswana, a shared river basin in Mozambique, and sites in the Kruger National Park (South Africa) and the Serengeti National Park (Tanzania).
In FY 2001, 74 U.S. graduate students in science and engineering participated in the Summer Programs in Japan, Korea and Taiwan from June through August. Since their start in Japan in 1990, in Korea in 1995, and in Taiwan in 2000, these programs have enabled more than 700 American graduate students to gain first-hand experience in laboratories in those countries. In addition to a research internship, the Summer Programs provide introductory foreign language training, and exposure to science and science-policy infrastructure. The goals of the program are to introduce U.S. graduate students to science and engineering research laboratories in East Asia and to initiate personal relationships that will better enable students to collaborate with foreign counterparts in the future. A long-term goal of the program is to enable the United States to gain maximum benefit from international scientific and technical interactions.
In FY 2003, INT will maintain its emphases on: